Day 2 in Munich...

Decalage horaire, quelle horreur!!! Which translates to up at 4am and what to do?

Breakfast is only served at 6:30am...Had plenty of time to shower and doll myself up for the excursion today to Harburg castle and then to Rothenburg, a medieval village.

Breakfast at the hotel-a treat
Getting dolled up this morning-brilliant intuition (I even had lipstick on at that hour)
Getting asked to join a young American for breakfast at 6:30am-PRICELESS!

David was a cutie of an American, training to be a chef. He was on business to learn from senior chefs (Michelin stars) and worked along their sides. Worldly, well-spoken, strong and solid beliefs and somewhat comical in nature. After being showered with compliments about my hair, eyes and VOICE ( as he closed his eyes to describe what it is he likes-yum), he asks me how old I am- to which I reply "consider me, Mrs. Robinson".

He never heard of The Graduate...clearly I dated myself. David is 28.
God we ALL need pick me ups like this...to remind us that we are not just middle aged mothers, with typical life stressors. How nice to be looked at and TOLD "you are attractive-Hell, you don't need plenty of fish".
...and NO I WILL NOT BE SEEING him, as he left town. It was just a lovely breakfast with a perfect stranger!!!! Thanks David for putting a smile on my face so early in the day!!

I walked merrily to the train station, to meet the tour company. Petra was a drab tour guide and someone remind me to "NEVER JOIN A BIG ASS TOUR AGAIN" with American teenagers. I know I have American viewers here...but these guys lacked a global education, manners, basic knowledge. Makes me wonder what is happening in high schools.

The grayline bus hit the autobahn... and we were told this highway system is THANKS to Hitler. He wanted to reduce unemployment levels, back then. To do so, he ordered the creation of autobahns. The speed limit on most of these highways is 130km/hr. That being said, 19% of the autobahns are SPEED LIMIT FREE. Who needs the Grand Prix?

We made it to Harburg castle and thanks to Wikipedia, one knows that "Harburg is a town (population 6,000) on Bavaria's romantic road boasting one of the most impressive remaining medieval castles in Germany. It is in the Donau-Ries district.
The castle was first mentioned in 1150 and has never been seriously damaged by war. Unlike many other German castles which were often built in the last 200 years or rebuilt after World War II, the castle Harburg retains the feel of the Middle Ages. Michael Jackson has called Harburg "the castle of my dreams", and he tried (unsuccessfully) to buy it.
The village itself is quaint with many footpaths and a historic stone bridge."

We drove an hour more to Rothenburg ob der Tauber, in the district of Ansbach of Mittelfranken. It is a well-preserved medieval old town. The name of this village comes from German, meaning Red fortress above the Tauber river.
The village was also an inspiration for Walt Disney's movie Pinocchio.
There was a band from Wisconsin, Ambassadors of music,with over 100 gifted musicians who performed for the tourists. Nice way to relax and enjoy the scenery.

On the ride back, my American teenage FRIENDS, decided to be loud and obnoxious for the duration of the THREE hour ride back....Calgon and Grey GOOSE take me away.

About thirty minutes close to Munich, we drove over The Danube river and I thought of Strauss' An der schönen blauen Donau. Here's my conundrum: That river was not blue...the water was as clear as could be. Which brings me to my next thought: was Strauss living a blue moment?

Tomorrow, Salzburg, Austria for the day....can't wait to walk the streets of Wolfgang and the place where The Sound of Music was filmed....

For now, Auf Wiedersehen!